Villeneuve says Ricciardo and Perez out, Sainz better than Leclerc
F1 NewsThursday, 18 July 2024 at 07:30
Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc need to up their respective games warns Jacques Villeneuve ahead of the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix, the mid-point of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship season.
Round 13 on Sunday at Hungaroring, means the F1 season is into the second half, with the Belgian Grand Prix before the summer break. Around which the already explosive F1 Silly Season will spark back to life. This year's driver merry-go-round got off to a shocking and early start when Lewis Hamilton announced his defection from Mercedes to Ferrari, scheduled for 2025.
Since then the spotlight has been on drivers whose futures hang in the balance simply because they are underperforming relative to their teammates, are not performing to the level they have shown to be capable of.
Villeneuve's gripe is about Ricciardo, and the VCARB driver's retaliation to it by suggesting the Canadian had received to many pucks to the head playing hockey. Notable, Villeneuve's wake-up call was credited as timely by none other than RBR team principal Christian Horner.
In his latest interview with the TG Casino media team, Villeneuve remains adamant that Ricciardo does not deserve to be in F1 unless he raises his mojo and believes even his great rival Michael Schumacher would agree with him.
On the Ricciardo topic, Villeneuve said: "I think Michael Schumacher and drivers in my era would agree with my opinion on Daniel Ricciardo because back then, you didn't stay in F1 for a long time unless you drove very quickly or brought a lot of money into the sport.
"F1 used to be harder to score points too as only the top six were points positions. If you finished top six in a Minardi, everyone was like 'Wow that was special', but finishing top six with the rest of the teams then you'd be content with points but it was nothing to be proud of."
Seats are available at VCARB, Williams, Sauber (aka Audi) and Mercedes and even Red Null... maybe
"The perception has changed since I drove because the top 10 would be the absolute minimum, it's not an achievement for a driver like Ricciardo. I'm a little old-fashioned so I can react the way it used to be and I can be critical, but it's also to refrain from accepting a points finish as good enough," explained Villeneuve.
The next 'target' was underperforming Perez, blown away by Max Verstappen, the Mexican's form has dipped alarmingly and even though he inked a contract extension, he will be lucky to see it through. All F1 contracts have exit clauses Red Bull consultant Helmut Marko told GrandPrix247.
With seats still unconfirmed for 2025 at VCARB, Williams, Sauber (aka Audi) and Mercedes plus the uncertainty of the second RBR cockpit, Villeneuve ventured: "Sergio Perez has shown he's not able to win races much more, if not anymore. Williams needs a special driver to take the team to the next level, and I don't think Perez is that.
"I would do everything in my power to sign Carlos Sainz, give him a mountain of money for five years so there's a long-term project to get back to winning ways at Williams. If the team is willing to invest that money, then Sainz will be confident in the team's vision and plan.
"Sainz has never been a lead driver in a team. He doesn't know what it takes to be at that level. Sainz has always had to prove he is as good as the number one and has had to work differently. It would be a completely different role for him.
Villeneuve: Sainz does have the talent and work ethic to succeed in that role as a lead driver
The Canadian added: "Sainz seems to survive in high-pressure situations and I think he would be able to handle being the main driver at Red Bull if Verstappen were to leave. I don't think a lead position would change his work ethic," predicts 53-year-old Villeneuve.
The start of the season seemed to be a repeat of 2023, with Red Bull - Verstappen mostly - dominating. But that changed unexpectedly when McLaren found themselves with a race-winning car, ditto Ferrari and most recently Mercedes.
Villeneuve observed: "The season has changed a lot and it's surprising. Red Bull have lost their leading position, and the best two teams now are McLaren and Mercedes.
"Max Verstappen is still making a difference and winning, but it's becoming harder and harder as the season goes on. Thanks to that, we see how good of a driver Sergio Perez actually is, he's not the same driver as before.
"Lando Norris has made a big step to be a contender. But, ever since Monaco, Ferrari have declined and nobody seems to know how and why that's happened, it will be hard to recover. Carlos Sainz has handled it a lot better than Charles Leclerc and it shows how strong of a candidate he will be for the next seat he takes.
"He can handle the pressure better than Leclerc can. Sainz sees it as 'let's see how we can make the best out of a bad situation', whereas Leclerc is like: crap is this what the next five years will be like?" added Villeneuve.
Bug Question: Is Jacques Villeneuve right about Checo, Dan and Charles?
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